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Barroso to name new members of College

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso was expected to announce today (26 October) the names of Romania and Bulgaria’s first European commissioners and the jobs they will do. Barroso is expected to approve Romania’s nominee Varujan Vosganian, a senator for the National Liberal Party, and Bulgaria’s European Integration Minister, Meglena Kuneva, as commissioners.

It was not clear as European Voice went to press exactly which portfolios Barroso would give them but culture and consumer protection were strong possibilities with an outside chance of them getting responsibility for customs or taxation.

Once Barroso has approved the nominations the two will be quizzed by MEPs from the relevant Parliamentary committees next month to assess their suitability for the posts.

The full Parliament will vote on whether to approve the candidates on 4 January and the Council of Ministers will give its formal approval after that.

Vosganian, a 48-year-old economist from the Armenian community in Romania, has been a member of parliament since 1990.

He has been president of the senate’s budget committee since 1996. He is also a member of the parliamentary assembly of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe.

Kuneva, 49, has been European integration minister since 2002 and before that worked as legal advisor to the government, assistant law professor at Sofia University and as a journalist for Bulgarian national radio.